Michael Dell, chairman and chief executive officer: “I’m very pleased with our fiscal year results and the strong performance we’re seeing in our commercial businesses. We remain focused on developing and acquiring new technologies and capabilities, and our IT solutions portfolio has never been stronger. Customers are now seeing Dell in a fresh light, and we’re heading into the new year with strength and optimism.”
Brian Gladden, chief financial officer: “Our outstanding fourth quarter and full-year results align well with our long-term value creation framework, and we’re pleased with the sustainable operational improvements we’ve made across the company, including in our consumer business. With our strong cash flow, solid balance sheet and improving overall profitability, we believe we are well positioned to deliver strong performance for our shareholders.”
Company Outlook:
For its fiscal-year 2012, Dell expects revenue growth of 5 to 9 percent, non-GAAP operating income growth of 6 to 12 percent, and continued strong execution on cash flow with cash flow from operations exceeding net income. In its first quarter of fiscal-year 2012, Dell expects normal seasonal declines in its consumer and public businesses and, as such, a slight sequential decline in revenue.
About Dell
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers worldwide innovative technology, business solutions and services they trust and value. For more information, visit www.dell.com. As previously announced, the fourth-quarter analyst call with Michael Dell, chairman and CEO; Brian Gladden, CFO; and Steve Schuckenbrock, senior vice president, Dell Services, will be webcast live today at 4:00 CST and archived at www.dell.com/investor. To monitor highlighted facts from the analyst call, follow on the Dell Investor Relations Twitter account at: http://twitter.com/dellshares or hashtag #DellEarnings. To communicate directly with Dell, go to www.dell.com/dellshares.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures:
This press release includes information about non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP net income, and non-GAAP earnings per share (collectively with non-GAAP operating expenses, the “non-GAAP financial measures”), which are not measurements of financial performance prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. In the following tables, Dell has provided a reconciliation of each historical non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure under the heading “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and has presented a detailed discussion of its reasons for including the non-GAAP financial measures and the limitations associated with those measures under the heading “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.” Dell encourages investors to review the reconciliation and the non-GAAP discussion in conjunction with Dell’s presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures.
Special Note on Forward Looking Statements:
Statements in this press release that relate to future results and
events (including statements about Dell’s future financial and operating
performance, announced and planned acquisitions, anticipated customer
demand, including seasonal trends and commercial momentum, enterprise
solutions strategies, component costs, cost controls, supply chain
improvements, and new products, as well as the financial guidance with
respect to revenue and non-GAAP operating income) are forward-looking
statements and are based on Dell's current expectations. In some cases,
you can identify these statements by such forward-looking words as
“anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,”
“confidence,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “should,” “will” and “would,”
or similar expressions. Actual results and events in future periods may
differ materially from those expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements because of a number of risks, uncertainties
and other factors, including: weak global economic conditions and
instability in financial markets; weak economic conditions and
additional regulation affecting Dell’s financial services activities;
intense competition; Dell’s cost-cutting measures; Dell’s ability to
effectively manage periodic product and services transitions; Dell’s
ability to effectively manage the growth of its distribution
capabilities and add to its product and services offerings; Dell’s
ability to achieve favorable pricing from its vendors; Dell’s reliance
on third-party suppliers for product components, including reliance on
several single-sourced or limited-sourced suppliers; disruptions in
component or product availability; successful implementation of Dell’s
acquisition strategy; Dell’s ability to generate substantial non-U.S.
net revenue; Dell’s product, customer, and geographic sales mix, and
seasonal sales trends; Dell’s ability to access the capital markets;
loss of government contracts; customer terminations of or pricing
changes in services contracts, or Dell’s failure to perform as it
anticipates at the time it enters into services contracts; Dell’s
ability to hedge effectively its exposure to fluctuations in foreign
currency exchange rates and interest rates; counterparty default;
unfavorable results of legal proceedings; Dell’s ability to obtain
licenses to intellectual property developed by others on commercially
reasonable and competitive terms; expiration of tax holidays or
favorable tax rate structures, or unfavorable outcomes in tax audits and
other compliance matters; Dell’s ability to maintain strong internal
controls; changing environmental and safety laws; the effect of armed
hostilities, terrorism, natural disasters, and public health issues;
information technology and manufacturing infrastructure disruptions or
breaches of data security; Dell’s ability to attract, retain, and
motivate key personnel; the risk of temporary suspension or debarment
from contracting with U.S. federal, state and local governments as a
result of settlements of an SEC investigation by Dell and Dell’s
Chairman and CEO; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in Dell’s
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its
Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended Jan. 29, 2010 and
its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 30, 2010.
In particular, Dell’s expectations with regard to revenue and non-GAAP
operating income for the full fiscal year ending Feb. 3, 2012 assume,
among other matters, that there is no significant decline in economic
conditions generally or demand growth specifically, no delays in
pursuing the enterprise strategy, no supply chain disruptions, and no
significant adverse component pricing or supply movements. Dell assumes
no obligation to update its forward-looking statements.